5 Food Tips That Will Make you Look & Feel Better
You are what you eat. So if you’re like me you’re pretty quick, but mostly garbage. That doesn’t need to be the case, however! There are plenty of easy things we can do with our diet that will make us look and feel like winners.
BREAKFAST FOR ENERGY
Make sure you start the day with a nutritious breakfast (read: not two long blacks!) containing a good amount of complex carbs, protein and healthy fats – think eggs and avocado on wholegrain toast or a dairy-free protein smoothie with nuts and berries for a boost of healthy omegas and antioxidants.
OATS FOR GOOD SKIN
According to Aveeno dermatologist Dr Li-Chuen Wong, eating oats is one of the easiest ways to get clear, handsome skin. “Oats are the natural ingredient I recommend most regularly to my patients for healthy-looking skin,” Wong told POPSUGAR.
“Oats are rich in antioxidants, which help reduce skin inflammation, and as a low GI food, eating oats prevents surges of blood insulin levels, which in turn minimises acne outbreaks,” Wong says.
CURRY FOR SMARTS
If you have ever consumed your curry in true Indian style and used your hands, you may have come across a yellowness at the tip of your fingers or on the front of your shirt that was really hard to wash off. This is the spice better known as turmeric, or haldi in Hindi.
According to MedIndia, it is rich in many vitamins and minerals that provide a range of health benefits, such as boosting your immunity and working as an antioxidant.
Curcumin is the key chemical in turmeric responsible for its medicinal properties, which include boosting brain power and preventing memory loss.
So, although that curry may increase your toilet cleaning product bill, it is also improving your memory. According to dailymail.co.uk: “A study of middle-aged and elderly people found those who popped a capsule of the stuff three times a day had better memories than those given a dummy pill.”
LEAN MEATS FOR NOT DYING
Lean meats are a huge source of clean protein and don’t contribute a huge amount of saturated fat. Skinless chicken breast is a great example, or you can try turkey, pork or select grades of beef (trimmed fat variants such as ground roast, sirloin or tenderloin). Lean meats beef up any meal (pun fully intended) and the red meats give that all-important iron as well as the protein. You could roast a turkey or a couple of chickens for the Sunday roast, whip the skin off and use the leftovers for lunch on Monday and maybe even Tuesday. Or you could make a wholegrain spaghetti bolognaise and add some good, colourful tomato sauce.
PREBIOTICS FOR IMPROVED SLEEP
Prebiotics act as food for good bacteria in your stomach and are dietary fibres found naturally in foods like chicory, artichokes, raw garlic, leeks and onions. Not your usual pile of snacks, but not difficult to integrate into your diet either.
A study by the University of Colorado, Boulder has found that prebiotics may have a significant impact on sleep, stress and recovering from PTSD.
“We found dietary prebiotics can improve non-REM sleep, as well as REM sleep after a stressful event,” says Robert Thompson, author of the new study published in the Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience journal.
